Mosquito Ringtone: Parents & Teachers Can’t Hear It, But Teens Can

If you want to see if you can hear the Mosquito Ringtone that only 20-somethings are supposed to be able to hear, try it for yourself below.

This one-of-a-kind new ringtone that I’m not supposed to be able to hear (because I’m “over 20″) actually hurt my ears.

I guess that means I heard it alright!

Then again, it only hurt my left ear. (Ha, I’ve always thought that my left side was my more “youthful” side… now it’s been confirmed!)

Anyhoo…

A condition called presbycusis, or ageing ear, means that by the time most people reach the age of 25, they cannot hear much above a frequency of 13 or 14 kilohertz. Source

First The Facts:

Teenagers everywhere are downloading this all-new ringtone (known as “the mosquito ringtone”, “teen buzz”, “mosquitone”) and using it to fool their parents and teachers into thinking their cellphone isn’t ringing and/or they aren’t text messaging their friends.

Since adults lose the ability to hear high-pitched sounds, the teens are using this high-pitched ringtone to their advantage by setting their cellphones to ring this tone whenever they have an incoming call or text message. It’s a way for their mobile phone to ring without adults knowing it.

The Mosquito Ringtone first arrived in classrooms earlier this year when a Scandinavian teenager, inspired by the Mosquito alarm, developed a high-frequency sound into a ringtone. The “Teen Buzz” is said to have spread to the UK and America via the Internet. Source

A: Because you can actually “hear” a cellphone vibrating these days. Not only do they vibrate, but cell phones also tend to hum at the same time — a dead giveaway to someone trying to talk or text message without being noticed.

Q: How are they getting this ringtone?

A: Known as “Teen Buzz,” it is spread from phone to phone via text message and Bluetooth technology. (Source)

Listen To “Teen Buzz” & Other Ultrasonic Ringtones

Truth be told, because of the lower sound quality that results from MP3 formats, most people will be able to hear the MP3 version of the Mosquito Ringtone.

Before you try this yourself, realize that my (left) ear is still ringing! …and it gave me a terrible headache.

It’s probably no surpise — since dogs can hear much higher pitched sounds than humans can — that both of my dogs reacted to the MP3 and WAV sounds above. The funny part: Only the younger one (7 months old) acted confused and irritated by the sound. The older one (3 years old) raised his ears a bit, but otherwise remained on the floor, calm and content. (But then again, he is 21– in dog years!)

If you’d like to know exactly which freqencies your ears can hear, have a listen to these ultrasonic ringtones which range from 8kHz to 21.1kHz.

If you’re over 20, the ringtones in the 17 to 21 kHz range will most likely to be inaudible to your ears.

I like to help people find unique ways to do things in order to save time & money -- so I frequently write about "outside the box" ideas that most wouldn't think of. As a lifelong dog owner, I often share my best tips for living with and training dogs. I worked in Higher Ed several years until switching gears to pursue things I was more passionate about. I've worked at a vet, in a photo lab, and at a zoo -- to name a few. I enjoy the outdoors via bicycle, motorcycle, Jeep, or RV. You can always find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun websites).